Search results

The term neurodiversity is used to discuss human neurological variation, differences in human cognition, and a social movement that aims to change the way that society views and responds to people who are neurodivergent. While the cognitive differences associated with autism are often discussed in terms of deficits, in recent years autistic autism researchers have been reframing autistic cognition from a neurodiversity-affirming lens that illuminates autistic strengths. Based on characteristics of autistic cognition from a neurodiversity-affirming perspective, this chapter describes neurodiversity-affirming autistic social entrepreneurship and systems thinking approaches and argues that all autistic-owned and -led businesses that align with the mission of the neurodiversity movement are by definition social enterprises. It is hoped that this chapter will assist in reframing autistic cognition from its current deficit conception and encourage the development of business support services that are more appropriate for autistic social entrepreneurs.

Controversy has long swirled over the claim that Donald Trump's base has deeply rooted authoritarian tendencies, but Trump himself seems to have few doubts. Asked whether his stated wish to be dictator “on day one” of second term in office would repel voters, Trump said “I think a lot of people like it.” It is one of his invariable talking points that 74 million voters supported him in 2020, and he remains the unrivaled leader of the Republican Party, even as his rhetoric escalates to levels that cautious observers now routinely call fascistic.

Is Trump right that many people “like” his talk of dictatorship? If so, what does that mean empirically? Part of the answer to these questions was apparent early, in the results of the 2016 American National Election Study (ANES), which included survey questions that we had proposed which we drew from the aptly-named “Right-Wing Authoritarianism” scale. Posed to voters in 2012–2013 and again in 2016, those questions elicited striking responses.

In this chapter, we revisit those responses. We begin by exploring Trump's escalating anti-democratic rhetoric in the light of themes drawn from Max Weber and Theodor W. Adorno. We follow this with the text of the 2017 conference paper in which we first reported that 75% of Trump's voters supported him enthusiastically, mainly because they shared his prejudices, not because they were hurting economically. They hoped to “get rid” of troublemakers and “crush evil.” That wish, as we show in our conclusion, remains central to Trump's appeal.

This case study is developed from financial reports, regulatory filings and news sources to explore the dynamics and outcomes of the partnership between Evolve Bank & Trust (Evolve) and Synapse Financial Technologies, Inc. (Synapse), a bank–fintech arrangement. Evolve’s annual financial statements were analyzed. These documents provided a comprehensive view of the bank’s financial health and the impacts of the fintech collaboration on deposit growth and risk exposure. Financial data related to Evolve’s operations industry were gathered from reliable databases such as those provided by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation BankFind Suite. This included performance indicators, competitive pressures and market trends influencing the bank’s strategies and partnership outcomes. Major financial news outlets such as Bloomberg, CNBC, Forbes, S&P Global and other government and industry-specific publications and databases, such as the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, were used to understand the external market conditions and regulatory challenges that arose throughout the partnership between Evolve and Synapse. This multi-source approach ensures that the case study offers a comprehensive analysis of both internal financial performance and the broader market environment in which Evolve during its partnership with Synapse.

The present competitive environment smaller financial institutions face, coupled with regulatory gaps applicable to both traditional banks and financial technology (fintech) firms, plays a significant role in increasing regulatory scrutiny of bank–fintech partnerships. Evolve strategically positioned itself to capitalize on the growing fintech revolution by forming innovating banking-as-a-service partnerships to extend regulated banking products to millions of fintech customers. Evolve’s most crucial fintech partnership came in 2017 with Synapse. This partnership helped Evolve triple its deposits from $436m to $1.5bn between 2019 and 2023.

Evolve–Synapse’s partnership exposed significant operational, financial and regulatory risks. Synapse’s unilateral revocation of Evolve’s dashboard access prompted Evolve to freeze account activities and revealed an $85m discrepancy between the $180m in customer funds held by partner banks and $265m owed to customers. Over 100,000 Americans were unable to access their accounts, affecting approximately $265m in deposits. Evolve’s overreliance on Synapse to manage fintech relationships left it vulnerable to third-party failures and regulatory scrutiny. This scrutiny highlighted the shortcomings and greater need for regulatory oversight of bank–fintech partnerships.

Did Evolve fail to adequately safeguard customer deposits? It is clear that the bank’s actions and inactions played a significant role in the current crisis. The insufficient regulatory oversight partially explains the inadequate implementation of risk management practices and customer compliance protocols by banks and financial technology firms compromising the financial system’s stability. As of early July 2024, no definitive solution had been reached and is projected that fund distribution will not be completed until October 18, 2024.

This case study is suitable for courses focused on financial markets, fintech innovation, risk management and regulatory frameworks within the banking industry. Students studying finance, banking, business administration or regulatory affairs, as well as participants in executive education programs focused on banking innovation or financial services, will benefit. This case is appropriate for courses in Financial Markets and Institutions with a particular focus on fintech and depositary regulation. A course in Money and Banking may also find this case relevant. Before starting, it is assumed that students have already taken foundational finance courses and macroeconomics courses and have a foundational understanding of financial statement analysis.

The paper aims to understand the stages of the social innovation process and how it can be used for sustainable development.

This single case study used multiple sources, especially data from extensive field visits and selective in-depth interviews. Direct observation, web content analysis, journals, annual reports and news articles were also used.

The findings show that BRAC institute of skills development (BISD) adopted a unique formula for the social innovation process: problem identification, new idea, design prototype, pilot, perfect and scale up. This study also finds that BISD has a significant socio-economic impact in Bangladesh. The impacts of BISD are associated with several United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 1 on poverty, SDG 4 on inclusive learning, SDG 5 on gender equality and women empowerment, SDG 8 on decent work and economic growth and SDG 16 on social inclusion.

The discussions of this study ultimately pave a clear roadmap for policymakers, practitioners and academics to improve mechanisms for sustainable development through social innovations in emerging countries.

This paper provides a practical application of the social inclusive innovation process theory by which vocational training institutes can scale their sustainable impact. More knowledge is needed on how organisations can implement social innovation projects in emerging countries. This paper provides exploratory evidence to fill this gap. It demands a promising area of interest to investigate further research on the compatibility of social innovation in skills development programmes to gear up the status of an underprivileged community.

A “state-driven” approach suggests that colonists use census categories to rule. However, a “society-driven” approach suggests that this state-driven perspective confers too much power upon states. A third approach views census-taking and official categorization as a product of state–society interaction that depends upon: (a) the population's lay categories, (b) information intellectuals' ability to take up and transform these lay categories, and (c) the balance of power between social and state actors. We evaluate the above positions by analyzing official records, key texts, travelogues, and statistical memoirs from three key periods in India: Indus Valley civilization through classical Gupta rule (ca. 3300 BCE–700 CE), the “medieval” period (ca. 700–1700 CE), and East India Company (EIC) rule (1757–1857 CE), using historical narrative. We show that information gathering early in the first period was society driven; however, over time, a strong interactive pattern emerged. Scribes (information intellectuals) increased their social status and power (thus, shifting the balance of power) by drawing on caste categories (lay categories) and incorporating them into official information gathering. This intensification of interactive information gathering allowed the Mughals, the EIC, and finally British direct rule officials to collect large quantities of information. Our evidence thus suggests that the intensification of state–society interactions over time laid the groundwork for the success of the direct rule British censuses. It also suggests that any transformative effect of these censuses lay in this interactive pattern, not in the strength of the British colonial state.

This literature review provides an overview of previous research on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and entrepreneurship. After introducing the relevance of the topic and discussing different perspectives on ADHD and entrepreneurship, this chapter reviews 26 academic journal publications. In the first step, it reports how authors of empirical studies have measured ADHD and reveals a dominance of quantitative research designs. In the second step, it presents insights from previous research on ADHD and the likelihood of becoming an entrepreneur, the relationship between ADHD and entrepreneurial intentions or preferences, the translation of entrepreneurial preferences into entrepreneurial actions, and finally, ADHD and entrepreneurial performance. The literature review finds that previous research has not yet provided conclusive results on the relations between ADHD and entrepreneurship. In the third step, therefore, this chapter outlines avenues for further research.